Norwich City: Johannes Hoff Thorup facing big challenge on Saturday | OneFootball

The Canaries have lost three Championship games in a row, and the Baggies will be hoping to make that four.

The international break came at the right time for Norwich City, whose play-off push faced its first setback at the end of October and start of November.

In recent weeks, the Championship has not been kind to Johannes Hoff Thorup and his Canaries side, who have slipped from 7th to 14th.

The block of six games from the October stoppage to this month's proved to be extremely difficult, with the East Anglia club failing to register a win, drawing three times, losing the other three in a row, a run of form that has threatened to derail their early campaign momentum.

While they will be hoping that the week away from the pitch will have offered them time to work on new tactical plans to ensure that this dip does not continue, a trip to The Hawthorns on Saturday could be another difficult one for Norwich, and a fourth consecutive defeat could be a real cause for concern.

Thorup must find a way past West Brom

The Canaries had just started to put pressure on those in the top six before their rut started, and that will be of great annoyance to their Danish manager, who has made a steady start to life in England since making the move in the summer.

One issue that Thorup will have is that his team have lost to teams below them in the table, such as Cardiff City and Sheffield Wednesday, and they have lacked the same clinical edge that they had earlier in the season.

It is imperative that performance levels are upped in their upcoming match against West Bromwich Albion, who will be hoping to inflict further damage on a potential play-off rival.

The Baggies themselves have had difficulties finding wins in the last month, going on a run of six draws in a row before finally tasting victory against Hull City last time out. They are incredibly difficult to beat, and Norwich will have to find that magic touch again to come away from The Hawthorns with anything.

Another loss could prove to be disastrous and undo all the hard work put in during the first couple of months, and they are at risk of dropping a number of positions due to how close the bottom half of the table is grouped together.

Josh Sargent's absence has been felt

Although there are a number of factors to blame for their sudden stumbling form, the loss of Josh Sargent due to injury has been felt profoundly, and Norwich do not look like the same team without him in the squad.

The American scored four goals and picked up five assists in his first 12 games this season, and he has formed an excellent working relationship with Borja Sainz.

Sargent had been involved in six of his side's goals before he was forced out of action due to a groin issue that required surgery, and his creativity has been a huge loss.

For the first time under Thorup, Norwich have gone two games without scoring, and this will play into the hands of West Brom, who have struggled to find the back of the net consistently themselves recently.

The Canaries, however, will have to work out a plan to get firing once again as the 24-year-old will not play again until 2025, and getting used to playing without him is now incredibly important, as this poor run of form will only get worse over time if they do not find improvements.